This feature first appeared in the official game program for the 82nd Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic between Ohio State and Southern California on December 29, 2017

By Keith Whitmire
 
Ken Ardoin's streak of attending Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classics will hit the big 4-0 this year, and he has no plans to stop.
 
"I didn't realize when I started it would be 40 straight years," said Ardoin, who turned 75 this month. "But it's a tradition. I think every family needs a tradition."
 
Out of roughly more than 2,000 Cotton Bowl "season ticket" holders, nearly 200 have renewed their tickets for 30 years or more.
 
The Ardoin, Barger and Gates families are in a class of their own with 40-year renewals.
 
Ardoin's admiration for the Cotton Bowl began with the 1978 Classic when his beloved Notre Dame played Texas.
 
That's also the year the Barger family of Waco and Centerville, Texas began purchasing Cotton Bowls tickets.
 
"There's definitely something special about the game," said Kathy Barger Hollomon, who has taken over the tickets originally purchased by her parents, AC and Darleen Barger. "We have 50-yard line seats, so they're really too good to let go."
 
The Gates family of Irving began going to Cotton Bowl games in 1968. The 1970 game was a favorite because young son Stephen got lots of television exposure when the cameras focused on President Lyndon B. Johnson behind him in the stands.
 
The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic has been a sellout every year since it moved to AT&T Stadium for the January 2, 2010 game.
 
Families returning to enjoy the Classic year after year, even after the move from its historic home in Dallas' Fair Park, are a treasured part of the game's traditions.
 
"The Classic has been a special part of the North Texas community for 82 years," Cotton Bowl President/CEO Rick Baker said. "Generations of season-ticket holders have made the Cotton Bowl an annual tradition for their families. We are so grateful.
 
"Their commitment and support are a significant reason why we have the opportunity to participate at the highest level in post-season college football. We would not be the game we are today without those great fans and their loyal support."
 
It's a loyalty that has no end in sight for the Classic's three longest-tenured families.
 
"I always made sure to buy my tickets really, really early because I didn't want anyone to get my tickets," said Marcella Gates, who began the family tradition along with her husband, Myron. "We love that game, love football and love the Cotton Bowl."
 
The Gates' daughter, Cheryl Gates Crosby, plans to pass the family's Cotton Bowl tradition down to the next generation.
 
"I've taken over the tickets and I plan to pass them over to my kids," Crosby said. "It would be fun to keep them in the family. I remember going to the games as a kid every year and I remember it being really fun."
 
When Ken Ardoin went to his first Cotton Bowl, he chartered a bus and took 20 friends to see Notre Dame upset Texas and Earl Campbell.
 
"I had such a great time, I said I want to come back next year," Ardon said.
 
He's been back every year since, including the eight years he lived in Lafayette, Louisiana.
 
"Even when I lived in Louisiana, I kept my tickets and always came back for the game," said Ardoin, who now lives in McKinney, north of Dallas. "Never missed it."
 
Although he used to take larger groups of friends and family to the game, Ardoin's tickets are now shared with three other Cotton Bowl loyalists. Friend Warren Norris and son Brian have been his guests at the game for the last 30 years and daughter Michelle has been to the last 25 or so.
 
"This will be my 40^th consecutive year," Ardoin said. "I love the Cotton Bowl. I'm more of an Aggie fan, but any Texas school that plays, I'm for them unless it's against Notre Dame."
 
It's families like these that make the Cotton Bowl Classic what it is today. We salute them and others who support our game every year.